


The power of three

by boundtoramble



Category: Les Misérables - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Backstory, Gen, Mythical Beings & Creatures, light nymph!Courfeyrac, moon spirit!Combeferre, part siren!Enjolras
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-24
Updated: 2014-06-24
Packaged: 2018-02-05 22:34:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,902
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1834636
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/boundtoramble/pseuds/boundtoramble
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A curious light phenomenon catches Enjolras' eye in the sky and they meet Combeferre, a timeless and genderless moon spirit. Enjolras gets distracted and Combeferre is reminded of Courfeyrac, a light nymph and eir best friend since the beginning of time- Courfeyrac's words, mind you.</p><p>Or, the formation of a triumvirate.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The power of three

**Author's Note:**

> I have no idea where this came from or whether there will be more. I dunno, man, should there be more?

 

> tri¦um¦vir|ate
> 
> Pronunciation: /trʌɪˈʌmvɪrət  
>  "A group of three powerful or notable people or things"

 

  
It's uncharacteristically light for this time of the night in Enjolras' opinion. They turn to lie on their other side on their favourite rock by the sea side and look up to the sky. The moon is waning, nearing its last quarter, and shrouded in the barest hint of mist so that can't be what's keeping them alert, but there's something else that catches their eye; a bright figure emerging from the sky. Enjolras blinks and when their eyes come back to focus, they can make out an albino barn owl gliding over the bridge illuminated on water, its talons scraping along the surface.

Enjolras is positively stunned. They quickly sit up and it doesn't take more than a couple of seconds for them to dive into the water and follow the owl until it settles down on a mountain cliff near the old forest. Enjolras frowns as they come to a halt, their wet blonde hair gluing to their temples and falling in their eyes. They swim closer to the shore and never take their eyes off the owl while climbing out and carefully squeezing the excess water out of their hair.

The owl just sits there, motionless, and stares right back at them, and Enjolras knows they have to find a way up there. And that's when the owl spreads its wings and surges towards them, causing Enjolras to flinch and crouch instinctively, bracing themselves for the impact that never comes because the owl lands on a tree branch reaching over to the water just in front of them.

Enjolras' breath hitches and they can't look away. The pure white feathers seem to reflect the moon light and it's a stark contrast to the bird's dark, piercing eyes. They reach a hand toward it but pull it back almost instantly, not wanting to scare it away. The owl opens its beak and hops around a little, spreading its wings and puffing its feathers until Enjolras raises their hands in a reassuring gesture and takes a step back, still in awe.

"Easy there," Enjolras says. "My name's Enjolras. I saw you coming from the moon and..."

The owl settles down again, blinking warily at them and Enjolras shakes their head. They reach to stroke the bird's soft head and its beak before standing up. "You're just a regular owl, aren't you? A beauty, that's for sure, but still an owl. The moon light just made it look like --"

Enjolras' eyes snap open when images of nightscapes and past ages come flooding into their mind. There's vibrant colours and shades of blue and grey, there's desire to know and understand, there's compassion and joy, and there's pain and everything in between.

"Well, technically, I'm a moon spirit," the bird says and Enjolras nearly jumps out of their skin. "Combeferre's the name."

The owl - no, _Combeferre_ , Enjolras corrects themselves - studies Enjolras for a little while before pulling its head back and wrapping its wings around its body, slowly changing into human form. Eir eyes are still dark and sharp but otherwise ey looks unmistakably like Enjolras. The fair skin, the blond mess of a hair and the face are spot on but there are some mishaps in eir proportions; one of eir legs is significantly longer than the other and slightly malformed which causes em to stand awkwardly.

"It's been a while, I apologise if I'm a bit rusty at this," Combeferre continues, rolling eir shoulders and cracking eir back, trying to get everything right. Ey flexes eir fingers, marveling at the sense of movement before focusing on Enjolras again. "Oh, right. I'm sorry, is.. Is this too weird? I can take on another form if you'd like."

Enjolras' mouth opens and closes but not a single word comes out. Combeferre chuckles and sits down to dip eir toes into the clear water. Maintaining a new and unfamiliar form like this was always exhausting, even for em, but it's been so long since ey last had someone to talk to. Throughout the years ey'd found that humans and their kin were often perturbed by extreme divergence though Combeferre emself had no such restrictions.

"Do you come to earth often?" Enjolras asks then, suddenly by eir side. Combeferre's head is spinning and eir outline frazzles a little.

"Not very often, no. It's rather draining unless the moon's in full," ey explains, concentrating on keeping eir form together at the same time. "That's when my powers are at their peak. Otherwise I try not be seen because it could take days to completely recover and not everyone can be trusted. I like it here, though."

Enjolras nods, brows knitting together and worrying their bottom lip in thought.

"You're wondering why I'm telling you this," Combeferre muses, splashing the water, and Enjolras snaps back. "Your aura is pure. I can see curiosity and intensity but you don't seem malicious. Actually, you quite remind me of somebody." Combeferre smiles to emself and makes a mental note to introduce them to Courfeyrac, a light nymph and eir best friend since the beginning of time. Those are Courfeyrac's words, of course; Combeferre's been around for far longer and ey knows better but chooses to indulge Courfeyrac's delightful fervor every now and then.

\--

"Combeferre!" Courfeyrac exlaims, standing up and rushing to collect Combeferre in a bone crushing hug. "It's been too long, I thought you'd forgotten all about me."

Combeferre had wanted to wait until the next full moon before bringing Enjolras here. Ey's taken the form of a tall and somewhat lanky young man. The glasses keep falling down the bridge of eir nose and eir short, silvery hair forms a sharp contrast with the olive skin tone. There's similar ease about em now as there is when ey's in eir bird form and Enjolras thinks this must be eir go-to human form. It rather suits em.

"Oh, I could never. You'd hunt me down if I ever even tried to," ey laughs and Courfeyrac makes a face at em before standing up on his toes and kissing eir cheek. He barely reaches Combeferre's shoulder in height but there's something about the way he carries himself and seems so completely at ease with himself that makes Enjolras terribly self-conscious, which is absolutely ridiculous, they've got siren blood in them after all, and fidget on the background until Combeferre finally detaches emself from Courfeyrac's grip and beckons them to come closer.

"And who's this?" Courfeyrac asks, flashing them an easy smile and Enjolras could swear they feel the space become a little warmer, more enticing.

"Enjolras, I... I'm a friend of Combeferre's. Apparently we've got similar auras," they blurt, rather unhelpfully. Courfeyrac stares at them for a few fleeting seconds and bursts into laughter before honest to God curtseying in front of them. They can hear Combeferre sighing exasperatedly a little farther to the side.

"Enchanté. I'm Courfeyrac, and everyone who's friends with Combeferre is my friend by default so that we can commiserate about how awfully dull ey can be," Courfeyrac pipes. "No offence, love."

Combeferre flicks him off but ey's smiling. Ey seems to be doing that a lot more when Courfeyrac's there and Enjolras decides they quite like it when ey does.

\--

Enjolras and Courfeyrac get on like a house on fire, just like Combeferre had half expected and half dreaded. On slow days, Courfeyrac entertains Enjolras with simple tricks like producing little balls of energy by clapping his hands together or playing with sunbeams, and Enjolras tries to teach him how to swim. Courfeyrac is _atrocius_ at it and Combeferre throws eir head back and laughs when Enjolras tells em about it later on.

Courfeyrac, as it turns out, hates water. His motor skills are good but his mindset is anything but. It should've been clear to Enjolras from the beginning, considering Courfeyrac's powers, really, but since Courfeyrac is a good friend, he follows them into the water. His limbs feel awkward and uncharacteristically heavy. He thinks he probably looks more like a soaked kitten trying to paw his way out to safer ground than a grown man learning to swim. Then he makes a tiny mistake at calculating his force and gets water in his eyes, ears and nose. Frankly, it's a horrible experience and he hates every second of it.

"You're doing great," Enjolras beams as they help Courfeyrac out of the water and wrap a blanket around his shoulders. Courfeyrac feels momentarily bad because this is clearly important to them.

"Enjolras, I appreciate the sentiment, but I don't think I belong in the water like you do. It just feels weird," Courfeyrac says and shivers when a droplet of water runs down his neck. "And I don't mean that in a good way."

Enjolras falters for a second, then nods and smiles. "Alright. Can you show me one of your tricks again?"

Courfeyrac grins and claps his hands a couple of times, constructing a tiny beam of light between his fingers. He can feel the familiar warmth spreading through his body.

\--

Combeferre is spending more and more time on earth and as it is, the three of them are inseparable. Courfeyrac radiates warmth and light which in turn illuminates Enjolras and Combeferre's hair, and Combeferre is the constant tranquility that keeps them both grounded. Enjolras never expected to slot in with them so effortlessly, but they do. Courfeyrac and Combeferre braiding starlight into their hair now seems like the most natural thing in the world, just like Enjolras and Courfeyrac spurring each other on and Combeferre either debunking or encouraging them depending on eir mood or Combeferre and Enjolras talking late into the night while Courfeyrac's sleeping half on top of them does.

They form an entity of sorts. They complete, guide and correct each other in different ways. Where Enjolras and Courfeyrac are straightforward and ferocious in their fury, Combeferre is the eye of their storm; ey's seen the tide turn one too many times, ey's seen fire and ash and blood and betrayal, but ey still believes that there's enough good in the world and the universe, that there is another path. Ey's logical, merciful and understanding at eir best, but stone-cold and ruthless when ey need be.

Courfeyrac has been around for almost as long, but he never talks about his past like Combeferre does. He lives in the moment and changes with the tide. He's like a hurricane; he comes and goes and does as he pleases, he remembers and he forgives, and most importantly, he _loves_. He loves with a burning passion. Combeferre once said he was about as subtle as an explosion when he wanted to be and Enjolras couldn't agree more.

Enjolras' flame burns cooler than Courfeyrac's but it's there for those who are willing to look further. They're younger than the other two, lacking the vast knowledge that comes with their age, but their youth gives them perspective and new ideas. They carry themselves with confidence and grace but they can be too fickle, they're passionate and sincere with their affections and just with their morals. They look to Combeferre for advice and support and to Courfeyrac for zeal and courage.

They banter and argue when their views clash but together, the three of them form a full circle.


End file.
